Innocence Lost
by AkiraDawn
Summary: Serah and Snow have been keeping something from Lightning for some time now. Lightning already didn't like Snow and now she just plain hate him. Serah wasn't a little girl anymore but that was hard for Lightning to understand. Rated M for a reason!
1. The Walk Home

Innocence Lost

Hey everyone! First of all, I am begging you for mercy in reading/reviewing this fic. This is the first FF fic I have ever written and I took this on as a personal challenge to see if I could actually pull it off. This story takes place approximately one month prior to any of the events of the 13 days. Rated M mostly for what happens later. I hope you like it!

I don't own Final Fantasy, it belongs to Square Enix

"I'd better go." a relaxed and very naked Serah Farron said. She didn't want to go; she was warm and comfortable here. She let out a long sigh and tightened her arms around the man she loved.

"No, don't go…not now." Snow begged of her, wanting nothing more than to hold her right here forever. He pushed loose strands of pale pink hair away from her eyes. "It's raining out there. Stay here with me; stay all night. You don't have to go home." Snow tried to convince her yearningly. Serah smiled and kissed his neck. She let one hand travel freely over his chest and up to his face where her fingers toyed with blonde locks of hair.

"I don't want to go, but I need to. Lightning will be expecting me." Serah didn't have the strength to even move right now even though she needed to. It was 6:15 on a Thursday and she knew if she just got up now and got dressed she would be home in twenty-five minutes. The problem was that she was just too contented as she laid under the covers with Snow and getting dressed right now simply wasn't an option. If she let herself; Serah could have fallen asleep to the rhythm of the rain. The small seaside house was so quiet and dark. "Are you going to come over for dinner tomorrow?" Serah asked.

"Of course I will. 5:00, right?" Snow asked her.

"Yes. We're going to eat outside. Lighting bought new patio furniture and she can't wait to use it." Serah said finally mustering up the strength in her already weakened arms to push herself up. Snow reluctantly let her out of his embrace as Serah searched the floor for any of her clothes. She found some pieces but not everything.

"Do you think…Lightning knows?" Snow asked Serah sitting up in his bed.

"If she does, she's certainly kept it to herself." Serah said finally finding her bra. Snow looked a little sad for a moment.

"Why do you think she doesn't like me?" he asked of her.

"Even though she's my sister, sometimes not even I can understand her. She has these ridiculous expectations for people and when those expectations aren't met she…" Snow cut her off.

"I think you're right, but I think she has ridiculous expectations for you and as far as she's concerned I don't meet them." Serah had her back to Snow. She smiled.

"It doesn't matter, I love you." She said before quickly turning around and throwing her half naked body across Snow's lap and sinking her lips into his. She held on to him as she felt fingers in her messy pink hair. Her small, delicate body sunk gently into Snow's arms. She could feel his tongue on hers; warm and hungry. Finally, she pulled her lips away from his. "I really have to go. I should finish getting dressed." Serah said smiling and rolling back over to the side of the bed where the rest of her clothes laid in a pile.

"So, should I bring anything tomorrow for dinner?" Snow asked Serah.

"No, just show up." Serah reassured him as she put the last of her clothes back on. She rose to her feet and brushed at the wrinkles on her skirt with no success of making them disappear.

"I'll walk you to the door. You know what, I'll just take you home." Snow said combing the floor for anything to put on. "Do you have an umbrella?" Snow asked finding the soft flannel boxers he had taken off earlier. He followed behind her through the dark house. They hadn't bothered to turn a light on anywhere.

"Yes, I have an umbrella. You don't need to take me home. I can walk, it's not far." Serah answered making her way to the front of the house careful not to knock anything over.

"Did you bring a coat or something, it's going to be a bit on the cool side tonight since it's raining and all. You can't walk, Serah. I'll take you." Snow said putting his hands on Serah's shoulders as she picked up her bag that she had dropped by the door when she got home from school that day. Lightning thought it completely irresponsible that Snow had taken so much interest in her 18-year old sister. She wasn't even done with school for god's sake! Lightning didn't understand what motives he could have had for wanting to become involved with someone younger than he was. In her mind it couldn't have been anything good. But the fact was, his love for her was quite pure and Lightning didn't see that; nor did she care to see anything past the fact that she didn't like Snow.

"Really, it's okay. I'll just walk. It's only rain. I'll be fine." Serah reassured Snow.

"Here, wear this shirt." Snow said pushing a long sleeved shirt over Serah's head. It would at least keep her a little warmer on her short walk home. She laughed as she pulled her arms through the sleeves. She was swimming in his shirt since it was entirely too big for her. She pulled the fabric over to her face.

"This smells like you. I might sleep in this tonight." Serah said still laughing. Snow smiled.

"Only that?" Snow asked winking at her.

"Only this." Serah said. She threw her arms around him again. She wished only she could stay here and kiss him until she fell asleep instead of going home to deal with Lightning scolding her for coming in past 7:30. Lightning still thought Serah was a little girl. Serah didn't need Lightning looking after her every move anymore.

"Bye, baby." Serah said softly before letting Snow out of her embrace.

"Bye…I love you. I'll see you tomorrow." Snow reluctantly let her go as Serah slipped out the door into the pouring summer rain. She looked out into the sea before her from Snow's deck as she opened her umbrella. The waves were violent tonight. It was a wonder Snow's home hadn't been swept away by the sea as far perched out on the shoreline as it was. It was the coziest seaside retreat Serah had ever known and there was nothing more in the world she loved than Snow and all she wanted was to be with him as often as possible.

The steps leading from the deck of the house to the ground below were a bit on the slick side and so Serah had to watch herself as she made her way to the ground below. The longest part of her walk home was from Snow's house to downtown Bodhum. Snow's house was out on the beach along with a handful of other sparsely placed homes. It was about ten minutes from town. The stars were hidden by clouds tonight as she made her way to the downtown district. The Bodhum streets were sparse tonight. Of course there were people in the restaurants and shops that lined the street; and there were a few people waiting to catch the train to wherever it was they needed to go. Serah picked up her pace a little. She knew her bag was getting soaked. The umbrella wasn't big enough to cover the bag and her both. She dodged the puddles in the sidewalk as she made her way toward the intersection. She was forced to stop and wait on the traffic. Unfortunately, Serah was standing too close to the curb and she got drenched with dirty water from a passing transit car. She squealed and jumped backwards away from the curb looking in disgust at her drenched clothes.

She finally made through the intersection and continued on her trip home. Not much farther to go. Serah weaved in and out of a few more blocks before coming upon her street. She hoped Lightning had left the door unlocked for her and she wouldn't have to go digging in her soaked bag for a key card. She could see the light from inside her house. Lightning was certainly waiting for her to come in, judging by the light that was on in the living room. Lightning always read her books on the couch in that room. Serah didn't really want to deal with Lightning right now. She just wanted to get inside and get these now filthy clothes off and take a hot shower. She approached the door, letting her umbrella down and shaking off the excess water. It didn't do much good it was raining so hard. Serah tried the door; Lightning had left it unlocked for her as she had hoped.

Lightning looked up from her book as she heard the door open only to see her drenched sister. "It's 7:50." Lightning said dryly.

"Ooooo it's 7:50." Serah said sarcastically.

"Don't you take that tone with me. It's a school night Serah! Do I need to remind you that you're not finished with school for another month!" Lightning scolded her. Serah took her wet shoes off at the door as not to track muck through the house.

"Lightning I…" Lightning cut Serah off.

"I don't care what you have to say. There is no reason for you to be out this late on a school night." Lightning said without any remorse for her dripping wet sister. Serah shook her head. This was useless trying to talk to Lightning. She sat her bag on the edge of the barstool at the counter.

"I'm not getting into this with you. I'm going to take a shower." Serah said leaving the room before Lightning had a chance to take this any further. Lightning could hear the door in the other room close. She sighed, frustrated with Serah and resumed her book. Suddenly, Serah's bag fell from its haphazard position on the barstool, startling Lightning at its thumping to the floor. Lightning shot her eyes up at the sound noticing its contents spilled everywhere. She scanned everything quickly wondering if she should give her sister a hand and pick everything up. She obviously decided not to and returned to her book. But Lightning wasn't actually reading the words on the page. She thought for a moment, a feeling of alarm overcoming her; questioning what she saw in the pile before her. Lightning shifted her eyes to the contents on the floor again, this time studying what she saw carefully. Her eyes narrowed a bit and she slammed her book shut not even bothering to mark her place. She pitched her book forcefully aside and snatched up the condom that had fallen out of Serah's bag. That's exactly what Lightning thought she saw. Serah and Snow had been so careful to cover their tracks for the past three months; but this little slip up would have the shit hitting the fan. Lightning was furious.


	2. A Heated Exchange

It was Friday and the night before Lightning had absolutely gone bonkers on Serah. Serah couldn't even get a word in edgewise for all the yelling and swearing at her. That was the thing about Lightning, she rarely let Serah have the upper hand regarding anything having to do with Snow. Serah cleaned the patio table in silence. Serah figured Lightning would have just canceled this dinner tonight but that would have been too easy. Lightning had already dealt plenty of fury to Serah and Snow was next. With him coming over tonight, it was the perfect opportunity for Lighting to tell him _exactly_ what she thought. Serah noticed that Lightning had nothing cooked. Why was she cleaningthe table if she had nothing cooked?

"Lightning?" Serah called to her cautiously.

"What." She answered her coldly. Serah felt like she was going to cry but she couldn't. If Lightning saw her cry Lightning would start yelling at her again.

"Why…am I cleaning this table if we don't have any food cooked?" Serah asked in her choked back voice. Lightning didn't answer. This question was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door. Lightning slammed her fists down on the surface before her and fled to the door as fast as she could.

"Lightning, no! Please…Lightning, stop!" Serah pleaded with her desperately as she dropped the wet cloth and chased after Lightning in near tears. It was too late, Lightning had furiously raged to the door before Serah could catch her. She opened the door and before Snow even had a chance to say hello she planted a fist in his face.

"What the hell are you doing sleeping with my sister, you son of a bitch!?" Lightning yelled at him.

"Lightning, no….no!" Serah cried to her as tears streamed down her face. Serah reached out but Lightning swatted at her hand.

"Stay out of this. This is between me and Snow now. He has to deal with me." Lightning warned her.

"Okay, I'll overlook the hand in my face and tell you hello anyway." Snow said holding a hand to the side of his face.

"Oh my god, would you cut the crap already!? Answer me!" Lightning hadn't lowered her voice any.

"What did you even ask me!? I show up at your house and you put your fist in my face!" Snow said as calmly as he could. This only made Lightning angrier.

"What do you think you're doing, sleeping with my sister?!" Lightning hissed through gritted teeth. Snow was still holding the side of his face as he shifted his eyes to meet Lightning's.

"What? I love Serah. This was mutual." Snow answered her, which was actually an excellent answer considering he had no clue what was going on right now. Lightning shook her head.

"You…liar!" she screamed at him. "My sister needs protected from assholes like you who lie to sweet and beautiful girls just to get them in bed! You…need to leave. Serah will never see you again." Lightning said affirmatively. Snow shook his head and disbelief.

"I can't believe you! You're accusing me of lying to Serah and now you think you know everything about our relationship?! What the hell Lightning?"

"Well, now I know that your relationship is sex and nothing else." Lightning said accusingly. Snow could not believe the words coming from her mouth. Lightning was making all these ridiculous assumptions and not listening to a word Snow said. "I have to protect, Serah! That is my duty as her older sister and I am not going to let you use her like that!"

"Would you chill and listen for like…I don't know two minutes!? I love Serah more than I love anything else in my life. I would never lie to Serah, I would never do anything to hurt her, ever! And I sure as hell am not using her! Why are you saying these things?" Snow pleaded with her.

"Those are pretty words, Snow. Save them for someone who gives a shit. You are twenty-one. What could you possibly see in my sister. She's a little girl for god's sake!" Lightning yelled.

"She's a woman, Lightning! Just like you. She can make her own decisions, she doesn't need you to…" Lightning cut him off.

"She absolutely needs me! It's you she doesn't need! Let me ask you this, Snow…what happens when you get her pregnant? Hmm? Then what? What happens to your stupid idea of living life without any obligations or responsibilities? Hmm? Because, you know what? A baby is a pretty big fucking responsibility!" Lightning said. Finally, she had lowered her voice.

"Okay first, I don't live my life without responsibility." Snow said. Lightning rolled her eyes. "Secondly, we have never, never had unprotected…." Lightning cut him off.

"Oh bull….shit. You think I believe that for a minute? Serah's still young, she's easy to manipulate." Lightning said completely uncontented.

"Serah's right…" Snow began calmly. "You don't listen to anything. I could tell you the sky was falling and you wouldn't listen. Let me tell you something. I don't care that you don't believe a word I say even though it's all true. Do I wish you liked me? Yes, I do because I believe that you are not a bad person. What I do care about is that you are so consumed with being right and having all the answers that you minimize the amazing qualities Serah possesses. Do you even realize that Serah has tried so hard to talk to you about me, about her, about school or about anything!? You won't listen to her. You're pushing her away because you treat her like she's ten."

Lightning didn't respond. Instead she spun around at the sound of something hitting the floor. Serah had packed up the biggest suitcase she could find and had two bags slung over her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Lightning asked her with little sympathy. She could tell Serah had been crying.

"Stop it…just stop it, Lightning. I can't just stand here and let you scream your head off at Snow like that. You didn't listen to me and you're not listening to him. Do you even know why we kept this from you from three months?" Serah asked her voice calm but it seemed it could break at any minute.

"Of course I know! It's because he wanted to use you for as long as…" Serah interrupted her sister.

"NO IT'S NOT!" she screamed. Serah calmed herself down. "It's because I knew you would flip out like this. I'm not a girl, Lightning. I'm not a girl anymore. I made a choice and now I've made another one." Serah said picking up her suitcase again.

"What choice?" Lightning asked, her defenses high.

"I'm leaving with Snow and I won't be back until YOU stop acting like an insensitive, know-it-all." Serah admitted to Lightning. She walked to the door and shoved Lightning out of the way. For some reason, Lightning felt completely defenseless as her younger sister shoved her aside. She watched in her own horror as Snow took Serah's heavy suitcase and her bags from her. Serah gave Lightning one last look before closing the door.

Now Lightning stood in complete silence, her back resting up against the door and feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Did her little sister really just pack her bags and leave? Lightning could feel a confused look spread across her face and her mouth hang limply open. She pushed her weight off the door and headed to Serah's room. She looked around to notice that Serah had cleaned off her dresser. The closet doors were flung open and half her closet empty. Lightning began to frantically open up the chest of drawers. Some were half empty, some were completely empty. Even the picture of she and Serah that Serah kept beside her bed was gone. This was serious. Lightning started to panic a little. She went back into the living room where she was reading the night before. The patio door was still open. Then, like a ton of bricks it hit her. Serah was gone.

"Are you okay?" Snow asked Serah as they arrived at his home.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. If I hadn't…" Snow put his arms on her shoulders.

"Hey, hey…this was not your fault at all." Snow reassured her.

"If my bag hadn't fell off that stupid stool none of this would have happened." Serah said. "That's how Lightning found out. The condom was in my bag, my bag fell off the stool and here we are." Serah said.

"Serah, this wasn't your fault. Besides, she was going to find out eventually. Don't worry, baby. Come here." Snow took her in his arms.

"But what really bothers me is the way she hurt you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Serah. It's okay." Snow told her resting his head on hers. "Come on, let's get your bags out of the back and take them inside." Serah shook her head yes against his chest.

"Well hey; I finally get to stay with you for more than just a few hours." Serah managed to smile as she walked around to the back of the vehicle to help get her things out. Snow swept her up off the ground. He smiled back at her.

"Stay as long as you want. Stay forever, I don't care." He kissed her. It was reassuring and comforting.

"I love you so much." Serah said resting her forehead against his.

"I love you too, Serah. " Snow said letting her feet touch the ground again. If anyone could make her smile after that horrifying incident with Lightning, Snow could.

"I'm going to put a curling iron in your bathroom. How do you feel about that?" Serah asked jokingly.

"I might use it on weekends. But sshhh, don't tell anyone." Snow said teasing her. Serah laughed as she threw the one bag that caused all this trouble over her shoulder.

"Crap! You know what I did? I left the key card that you gave me at my house." Serah just remembered.

"That's alright. We can go have another one made tomorrow. It will deactivate after 48 hours anyway." Snow told her. Serah was relieved to hear this. She knew there wasn't a risk of Lightning finding it. She always tucked it under her mattress because she didn't want Lightning to know she had a key. Snow unlocked his door as the coastal air blew Serah's pink pony tail around. She looked out into blue water and crashing waves. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, Snow?" Serah asked as the door opened. She was still looking out over the ocean.

"Yeah?" he asked propping the door open with her suitcase.

"Even though some really horrible things just happened…I am so happy now." Serah confessed. She felt guilty. She thought she should still be upset about everything that had happened. But Snow didn't seem all that upset and he was the one that was being abused! She didn't see why she should be upset since he wasn't. Snow reached out and took the bag from Serah and kissed her again.

"All I ever want is for you to be happy, Serah. I'm happy if you're happy." Snow said.

"Well, I'm always happy when I'm with you." Serah laughed. Snow couldn't help but laugh with her; Serah's smile was contagious. "I'll help you unpack." Serah walked inside and threw one of the bags on the couch near the door. She moved her suitcase away from the door and closed it. The ocean could still be heard through the open windows in the house. Serah took her huge suitcase back to Snow's bedroom to unpack it. Snow noticed he had a message on the phone. He listened to it as Serah poured the contents of her suitcase everywhere. It was amazing how much she had actually crammed in that thing.

"Hey, since we obviously didn't get to eat at your house do you want to meet Gadot and Yuj tonight at the café? Gadot left me a message.

"Yeah, sure. Let's do that." Serah agreed as she unpacked the picture of her and Lightning. She looked at it solemnly. She wished so much Lightning would be her sister instead of trying to be her mother.


	3. Let Her Cry

It was a hot night in Bodhum tonight and the city was alive. Snow and Serah had met Gadot and Yuj at the café in town as planned. Lightning always hated it that Serah hung out with these NORA losers. They couldn't help but discuss the incident with Lightning that occurred only a few hours earlier. It was a pretty major event and it was hard to keep quiet about. Now, not only did Lightning know but Gadot and Yuj knew. It came as quite the shock to both Gadot and Yuj judging by the looks on their faces.

"Let me see if I understand this...you two have seriously been sleeping together for three months and I have had no clue? And…your sister finds out today and loses it? Do I have all these details correct?" Gadot wasn't really looking for an answer. "Seriously!? Three months? Three months…and I have known NOTHING? Wow…" Gadot finally grasped the shocking news. Yuj still hadn't said a word. Snow and Serah hadn't wanted them to know but now that Lightning had found out it didn't matter much anymore. Gadot had always liked Serah and hearing her talk about what happened today proved to him that she was much more of a woman than he had ever thought. He was impressed by the way she just walked out of the house on Lightning. It took a lot of guts to do that. Suddenly, she was that more appealing.

"You two have been around us so often, why have you never said anything?" Yuj questioned Snow.

"We didn't want to take the risk of it getting back to Lightning." Snow said. "It wasn't that we didn't trust you guys…it was just too much of a risk. And the thing is; Lightning treats Serah like a child. Lightning always has to be right, she's never wrong as far as she's concerned. That is the real problem here." Snow explained.

"That's crazy; when I met you I thought you were older than Snow just by the way you acted. I mean sure, you look very young. But that's really what I thought." Gadot said.

"Try telling that to Lightning." Serah said disgruntled.

"Ah, so that's the point, huh?" Yuj said shaking his head and seemingly just getting on board with all this information. "So, you left the house and are staying with him. Aren't you pissed at her?"

"Of course I am. I hate the way she treated Snow and the way she screamed at me. But she's still my sister. Deep down I love her, but I'm staying with Snow until she apologizes." Serah said as Snow weaved his fingers in between hers. "Do you want to know what Lightning said to me?" Serah couldn't help but smile. Snow laughed.

"Oh my god, this is awful. I don't know why I'm even laughing at this." Snow admitted pulling Serah closer to him.

"I want to know!" Yuj said his curiosity in overload. He leaned in toward the table with wide eyes.

"She's your sister it couldn't have been too bad, right?" Gadot asked looking at both Serah and Snow. Snow didn't say anything and Searh just bit her lower lip and raised her eyebrows.

"Right?" Gadot repeated now realizing that it had to be bad.

"First she said she never thought she would have a slut for a sister…" Serah started. Yuj gasped and covered his mouth thinking that was the worst of it.

"Yuj, that's a compliment compared to what she's going to say next." Snow warned him. Yuj quickly swallowed the drink in front of him and leaned in hanging on whatever Serah was about to say.

"Then she said that after Snow uses me up and leaves me there would be no man interested in wasting their time with physically and emotionally spent whore." Serah said. Gadot gasped. "Wait, wait…then she got really pissed and she said oh hold on whores actually get paid for who they do. You give it up for free which just makes you a slut, a used up slut. Then I think she threw something at me." Serah finally finished. Poor Yuj looked as if the world around him had just collapsed and Gadot couldn't believe what he just heard.

"This is the biggest fight you and Lightning have ever had wouldn't you say so?" Snow asked her.

"Oh definitely, for sure. The problem is this was a one sided fight." Serah said laughing. "What are you doing?" Serah asked Gadot.

"You clearly need this cranberry vodka more than I do." Gadot just shook his head and pushed his drink toward Serah.

"Aww, you're too nice. I won't take that from you." Serah said putting her head on Snow's shoulder. He seemed to be studying something in his mind.

"The way I see it…I should have just agreed with everything Lightning said even if it wasn't true. Maybe if I would have just taken the blame for whatever it was Lighting wanted me to take the blame for; she wouldn't have wailed on Serah so much.

"That's sweet of you, but that wouldn't have helped anything." Serah said.

"Eh, you're right. It wouldn't have helped at all. She got to you before she could get to me." Snow said.

"It's not that really, it's just that Lightning already had her mind made up about everything and no matter what you could have said she wouldn't have been satisfied with it." Serah reminded him. Snow kissed the side of her head. Yuj had a worried look on his face.

"I guess I just don't get it. You're such a wonderful person. And I mean, sure Snow dresses awful but other than that he's the best guy ever."

"Hey, what do you mean I dress awful?" Snow questioned the fashionably inclined Yuj. Serah laughed and finally decided to take that cranberry vodka from Gadot.

"Look at you Snow, it's nearly 88 degrees out here tonight and you're wearing pants. And what's worse; they are _cargo_ pants…_cargo_ pants, Snow." Yuj critiqued. Snow thought for a minute. He looked at his watch and then at Yuj.

"I won't be wearing them in two hours does that make you feel any better?" Snow asked him as seriously as he could. Serah nearly choked on the cranberry vodka from laughing.

"Well, no….you're in public right now. People see you dressed like that." Yuj said trying his best to keep a straight face.

"Yuj, you spent 160 gil on a pair of jeans and they have holes in them! You bought new jeans with holes in them! I'll never understand that, but whatever. For that kind of money, I could…" Snow paused. "…well I could buy a lot of stuff." Serah was still laughing. "What are you laughing at? Are you agreeing with him?" Snow said wrapping an arm around Serah.

"No, no I'm not agreeing with him. I just think it's funny. I like the way you dress and I always have." Serah said.

"Speaking of Yuj's fashion obsession; what are you two doing tomorrow?" Gadot asked.

"We haven't thought that far. We've been dealing with Lightning accusing us of having unprotected sex and me using Serah for her hot body and nothing more." Snow said humorously recapping the night's events.

"If you're interested we're going to PalumPolum tomorrow because Yuj wants to go shopping and I said I would go with him. Now granted, I will likely regret the decision to go because Yuj takes his shopping very seriously. But anyway, you two are welcome to go with us." Gadot said.

"I do not take my shopping THAT seriously!" Yuj defended himself.

"Yuj! I've seen you practically shove a senior citizen into a door to get to a half off sale." Serah said laughing.

"I have not done such a….oh yeah…well you….you….you're sleeping with Snow!" Yuj said laughing knowing he hadn't thought of a decent comeback and it was true that he did shove a senior citizen into a door t get to a half off sale.

"We'll go with you." Snow said. "Just call tomorrow morning and tell us what time you're leaving."

It had shaped up into a fun evening with Yuj and Gadot. It minimized the events of earlier and made both Serah and Snow comfortable to know they could count on these friends to have their back.

In a darkened house outside of town, Lightning laid on the couch alone. There was a bottle of the strongest tequila she could find sitting on the table in front of her. It was one-fourth empty. Lightning had her head buried in the pillows on the couch sobbing her eyes out. She was so numb from drinking straight tequila that she couldn't even remember why she started crying in the first place. This wasn't like Lightning at all to be drinking so hard by herself in a dark house. She hadn't even bothered to turn on a lamp. She had exhausted nearly an entire box of tissues and her head was starting to hurt from a combination of crying so much and the alcohol. Her eyes were burning from rubbing the tears away. This had been one of the most horrible days in Lightning's life. She didn't know if she was crying because Serah had left or because she was mad at Serah. Perhaps she was crying because she hated Snow or because she felt sorry for herself. Hell, she had been crying ever since she started drinking and that had been hours ago. Part of her wanted to call someone. She needed to talk. But who the hell would she talk to? She had spent so long shutting people out since her parents died. In times like this, she would normally talk to Serah. She flipped over on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Her head was spinning as she wept. She thought about getting up and going for a walk on the beach but that would have taken too much strength. Lightning's solution for now was to lay here and cry herself to sleep over something that seemed vague now. She had cried about everything from Serah to the fact that she had gotten a stain on the carpet last week but it was all just a blur of tears now. Whatever reason it was that made Lightning start crying in the first place; it was all but a faded memory now.


	4. Not Going Home Tonight

It was a full moon tonight. Serah let the screen door slam shut behind her. She had a pitcher in her hand. She decided it would be a wonderful idea to crush ice and mix it with pineapple juice and orange juice. She looked so angelic in the moonlight with her pink hair falling freely all over her shoulders. She was stripped down to nothing but her underwear and her sheer sweeper. It had been hot in the house but out here it was much cooler with the ocean air blowing in. When Serah was with Snow, she was the queen and right now she looked like one.

"What did you make?" Snow asked as Serah climbed over his lap. Finally, the heat had gotten to him and he had taken everything off except his boxers. He put his hands around her waist.

"I took ice, I crushed it. Then I found pineapple juice and orange juice and I put it all together." Serah said tipping the pitcher toward her mouth.

"You should have put the rest of that champagne in it. There's not very much left." Snow said taking the pitcher from her.

"I didn't even think about that. Hold on…" Serah said sliding off Snow's lap and hurrying back into the house. She returned quickly with a near empty bottle of champagne and a spoon. She straddled Snow's lap again as the wind blew her hair in her face. She opened up the champagne and poured it into her fruity mixture. "Why did you even save this? There's hardly any left. We won't even taste it." Serah said.

"If you want, go get something else and pour it in there." Snow said tightening his arms around her waist.

"No, I won't do that. I'll leave it just like this." Serah said stirring her creation. She handed it over to Snow. He tried it and handed the pitcher back to her. "You did good, baby." Snow told her. Serah really should have brought glasses out with her but for whatever reason she thought this pitcher would do just fine.

"So how do you feel…you know, about everything that happened today?" Snow asked her wanting to make sure Serah was okay.

"I don't need Lightning to make my decisions for me, Snow. I love her but she's being ridiculous. I feel fine, I really do. I'm here with you now and that's all I need." Serah said sincerely. Snow held her slender body against him.

"I love you Serah and no matter what happens you know I'll stand up for you. I know Lightning hurt you; but it will never happen again. She'll never hurt you again, Serah." Snow was so sincere. Serah smiled. She didn't need to say a word. Her eyes spoke for her. Serah kissed him as if she would never kiss him again. That's how grateful she was to have Snow in her life. She had thrown her arms around his shoulders and as far as she was concerned she could have held him like this until the sun broke over the ocean. Her body shivered all over at the feeling of Snow's hands crawling up and down her back. She leaned over and picked the pitcher up off the deck again. She had one arm around Snow and drinking out of the pitcher with her free hand.

"You know what? I think you made too much of that. You need to drink some more of it." Snow encouraged her looking at this very full pitcher. Serah mumbled something into the pitcher as the iced mixture dribbled down her chin and down her neck. "What did you say?" Snow questioned her as he reached up to take the pitcher from Serah. She had made a mess with that last drink she took.

"I said that YOU need to drink some more of this. But first, lick this off of me." Serah said leaning over and putting the pitcher back on the deck. She didn't have to ask Snow twice. She could feel his tongue at the base of her neck. Snow could feel her tremble as he licked his way toward her chin. He snuck his hand underneath the sheer, fluttery sweeper that the air had pulled away from her body. Serah's tongue met Snow's in a heated reunion. He tasted of citrus. Serah squeezed Snow's strong shoulders as she felt her bra come undone. It only took one motion for it to fall to the deck. Serah tried her best to work her hands down Snow's body but she couldn't manage to because of the way she had him straddled. She whimpered contentedly as she felt Snow's hands on her breasts. Now she just couldn't stand it. She pulled her lips away from his breathlessly.

"You're wet…" Snow told her; his voice barely above a whisper.

"It's your fault…" Serah answered him just as softly before wrapping her arms around him and laughing sweetly. "Besides…you have your own problem to deal with." Serah said holding on to Snow tightly.

"You're going to deal with it, not me." Snow reminded her sweeping her up in his arms.

"Wait, wait, wait…I have to get that!" Serah said pointing to the pitcher on the deck as she wrapped her body around Snow. He laughed at her.

"No you don't its fine." Snow took her inside the darkened house and let her feet hit the floor. Serah took her sweeper off, letting it fall daintily to a pile on the floor. She wasted no time in stripping Snow of the rest of his clothes and shoving him backwards against the couch. Sure she was smaller than him, but Serah could take control any time she wanted. Snow gasped and nearly lost his balance as he gripped the top of the couch on either side of him. Serah was on her knees letting her hands slide up as far as she could reach and letting her mouth do all the work. She loved how Snow talked dirty to her while she did this. It fueled her on and made her hungrier for him. She felt Snow hold her hands in his; squeezing her fingers tighter the deeper she took him in her mouth. She loved feeling that response from him. Serah was so good at this. She didn't have any experience prior to being with Snow but everything she learned; she learned with him. They were both virgins the first time they slept together so neither of them had any experience three months ago.

Snow had to pull her mouth away from him. She was just too good. He let Serah's face rest in his hand as she caught her breath. It was times like these that Serah wished that just for once Snow would fuck her without a condom because now they had to go get one. But in the big scheme of things, it was much better to be smart rather than impulsive. Snow pulled her up from her knees and slid her underwear off her hips. They were both already sweating because this house was so hot tonight compared to what it was outside. Serah wondered why there were so many blankets on the bed as she led Snow by the hand out of the living room and into their bedroom. All the windows were open and the ocean could be heard. There was a bit of a breeze coming in but not enough to justify all these covers. Serah threw them all to the bottom of the bed and made herself comfortable in a sea of pillows. Snow watched her with lustful blue eyes as pale moonlight caressed every curve of her naked body. The back of her neck was already wet with sweat with pink hair sticking to her. She reached her hands above her head and waited until Snow was ready to have his way with her.

She didn't have to wait long. Snow parted her legs and let his lips meet hers as she felt him inside her. She wrapped her arms around him and let her hands slide on the wetness of his back. Serah moaned, tilting her head back, forcing Snow's lips on her neck. She could feel her body move with him; slowly at first but gradually with more force. Snow's body was so...hot. God, there wasn't a part of him that wasn't solid muscle. He could have been so rough with her but he never was…unless Serah wanted him to be. Snow could feel Serah arch her back toward him. The more intense the sensation became the harder she dug her fingers into him. Serah could feel Snow's breath in her face and the coarseness of his cheek against hers. She begged for him mercilessly just as he begged for her. Serah didn't even bother holding on to Snow at this point; their rhythm was too driving and forceful. She flung her arms out to either side of her body clawing at the sheets beneath her.

When Serah would cry out like this Snow used to wonder if he was hurting her….he wasn't. He soon learned he could be much harder with Serah than what she looked. Snow had complete control over her body and Serah would have wanted it no other way. Snow panted ruthlessly as he noticed the sweat covering Serah's stomach. It was time for her to cool down. Snow reached for her outstretched arm and moved back away from her pulling her up to where she was sitting upright. He didn't have to give her instructions. Serah knew exactly what to do. Her pink hair was stuck to her back. She tried to catch her breath as she put her feet on the floor and leaned forward with her hands on front of her on the mattress. Maybe it was the angle, maybe it was how much harder Snow fucked her when he was behind her like this; but whatever the case Serah intertwined her fingers with Snow's and held on tightly. It wasn't long until Snow had to release one of her hands and put his arm under her hips. She was getting weak in the legs the longer he slammed his body into her. Serah begged him not to stop. It felt so good to her and if he stopped now she might never get back to this point. Now, he needed both hands to get underneath her because she was starting to slip forward from weakness. However, she could still stand so she wasn't quite weak enough…Snow would take care of that. He pulled her up to where she was standing up and her head had fallen backwards to his shoulder. She growled something about why he stopped there but he reassured her she would be fine. Thank god his floor had carpet because that's where they were going next.. All Snow had to do was let go of her and Serah slipped to the floor on all fours.

"Look at me…" Snow said breathlessly to her as he put one hand on her face; turning her head toward him. He kissed her deeply. "Okay, that's all I wanted." He whispered to her. She cried out for him as she felt him thrust into her. Snow knew she was close; Serah always climaxed before Snow….always. Tonight was no exception. Snow leaned forward to the point that his lips were resting on her ear. "Come Serah…" he encouraged her, his voice low and soft. She whimpered in pleasure at his request. "Serah…come…" Serah wondered how Snow always knew when she was about to climax. He was always right, he never missed it. Serah didn't last another full minute. She climaxed in a sea of moisture and satisfaction. It always intensified when she felt Snow come right after her. She could feel his labored breath on the back of her neck. His heart was racing and if he didn't get Serah out of the floor she was going to collapse in it. He was careful not to pull out of her too fast. Whoever came up with the idea to put a trash basket beside the bed was brilliant because it was used all the time. Snow picked Serah up and laid her down beside him on the sheets. Her legs were weak, her arms were weak and her body was surging. Even though they were both wet with sweat Snow still held her body against his as tightly as he could hold her. Serah clung to him.

"Hey Snow?" Serah whispered as she still tried to catch her breath.

"Yes?" he asked of her trying to pull her hair away from her neck.

"You know how we usually have sex and I have to go home like two or three hours later?" Serah asked.

"Yeah…" he answered her.

"I'm not going anywhere tonight." She reminded him hugging Snow that much tighter. He couldn't help but smile. Neither of them had thought of that yet.

"No…no you don't. You'll be right here beside me." Snow said kissing his way to her lips. Serah laughed. "I love you." Serah laid there in Snow's arms as they listened to the ocean rumble in the distance.


	5. Trust

Lightning sat on the beach wrapped in a robe-like sweater, sleeves stretched past her wrists and her soft cotton pants littered with sand. She was clenching an oversized coffee mug and staring blankly at the early morning ocean. It was low-tide and the only thing that seemed further away than the water's edge was Serah. Lightning looked as if she had aged tremendously overnight with her face flushed and streaked, heavy circles under her eyes and her hair a tangled mess from being whipped around by the ocean air. She had a hangover headache and was trying to drink it away with coffee and aspirin. Lightning had never felt this miserable and she had only slept two hours the night before. She wanted to sleep so badly, but she couldn't find it in herself to close her eyes. As she stared into the vastness before her she couldn't help but notice a figure walking up the beach in the distance. Who else in their right mind would be out here on the beach at 6:00 in the morning before the sun even had a chance to warm up the sand? She watched the figure in the distance walk along the edge of the lapping waves coming closer and closer into Lightning's immediate view. It appeared to be a young man but Lightning couldn't tell for sure yet. She took a drink of her nearly gone coffee but continued glancing back at the person coming up the beach.

It was indeed a young man, perhaps even a kid. He started walking away from the waves and toward Lightning. She watched as the figure came close enough to speak to her0

"Hi! Beautiful morning isn't it? Can you tell me a good place around here to get breakfast?" the shoreline traveler asked of Lightning. She was in no mood to chat with strangers.

"Beasley's. Go there." Was all Lightning said.

"Thank you." The traveler said. He started to walk down the beach again but stopped in his footsteps. He spun around to face Lightning again.

"Um…I don't mean to pry but…are you okay?" he asked. Lightning shot daggers at him.

"I'm fine." She said sternly.

"Oh, well I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you. It just looks like you need to get something off your chest. Bye." He said. Lightning almost let him walk away.

"You don't know what I need." Lightning said matter of factly.

"Well, of course I don't know what you need. But, I know when someone needs to talk." He said walking back to Lightning's side. He sat down beside her. "My name is Hope, Hope Estheim."

"Lightning." She answered not giving any greater detail.

"I'm from PalumPolum. That's why I asked you about breakfast." Hope explained.

"What brings you to Bodhum?" Lightning questioned him.

"Me and my mother are staying here for a while. It's kind of like a long vacation." Hope said. "So, what's troubling you?" Lightning shifted her gaze and studied Hope.

"You're a kid. You couldn't even begin to understand." Lightning said shifting her eyes to the sand.

"I bet I'd understand more than you think." Hope said. Lightning didn't say anything. There was no way in hell she could talk to some kid. However, this _was_ someone to talk to and he obviously could see the concern looming on Lightning's face or he would have never asked.

"I've…hurt someone I love." Lightning finally said.

"So, just apologize." Hope said sharing this simple solution.

"She's my sister…I don't think she will forgive me this time." Lightning's tone was somber and remorseful.

"Well, what happened?" Hope asked.

"I told you! You won't fucking understand! You're just a kid!" Lightning hissed at him. For her to accuse Hope of being a kid she was certainly using some inappropriate language. Lightning took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Tell me Hope, how would you feel if somebody took someone you loved away from you?" Lightning's eyes seemed to burn into Hope.

"I…I would hate that person." Hope admitted. Lightning looked back into the ocean.

"I hate him." She said.

"Who? Why is that?" Hope asked.

"I don't need a reason, okay!? I just do!" Lightning yelled.

"Sorry…it's just that…" Lightning cut Hope off.

"It's not fair! I hate him because it's not fair! That stupid son of a bitch loves her! He really does! I know he was telling the truth about everything! But I don't care! It's not fair…it's not fair! I hate him so much." Lightning started to tear up.

"You know, it would really help to know who HE is." Hope said wishing Lightning would fill in some of the blanks.

"His name is Snow. He's my sister's boyfriend. Their relationship is getting too serious." Lightning said.

"How long have they been together?" Hope asked.

"Seven months that I know of. But I think it's been longer than that." Lightning sighed. "Our…parents died when we were younger. I had to be strong for Serah. I had to protect her. I had to make sure she didn't ever know how cruel the world could be. I had to keep her innocent forever." Lightning's tears started to flow faster. "It's my fault. It's all my fault. It's not what she did and it's really not even him…it's me."

"Listen Lightning, what did your sister do or this…Snow do that upsets you so much?" Lightning wiped her eyes.

"She grew up…she grew up and I didn't even see it happening! I was so busy dismissing her that I didn't even see her blossom. She became a woman before my eyes and I didn't even once acknowledge it." Lightning bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. "I never once said what do YOU want, Serah. What do YOU want out of your life? She only needed to feel safe. As far as I was concerned nothing else mattered as long as she felt safe. One time…I saw her in her room crying when she was 15. And you know what? I told her she had no reason to be crying. When she was 17 she came storming through the door one day mad as hell and I told her to stop acting like a baby." Hope didn't say a word. Lightning was on a roll and he wasn't about to stop her flow of words. "Then he met her…and he had the nerve to make it okay for her to cry and make it okay for her to get angry. He made it okay for her to feel." Lightning wiped her eyes again.

"What's wrong with that?" Hope asked.

"The only thing she ever needed to feel was safe! I gave that to her!" Lightning said.

"But Lightning, you can't expect someone to just feel what you want them to feel. It sounds like…" Lightning cut Hope off.

"I know! I know, alright!? I know! I didn't listen to her! I didn't listen to her now and I've never listened to her! I've spent all my energy trying to shut down anything else she ever felt. He knows her better than I do! He knows everything about her and I don't! I'm her sister; I'm supposed to know everything about her! But I don't…I don't…my god…I don't…he does…." Lightning was sobbing into her sleeve now. "She doesn't even trust me and it's all my fault….she's trusts him but not me! I did this…I did this to myself…I did this to her….oooh god I did this…" Lightning was crying miserably. Hope almost felt his own heart breaking seeing this woman in so much pain. He moved himself closer to her and put his arms around her. So what she was a stranger, she was hurting.

"It sounds like it's you that you're mad at…not your sister." Hope told her quietly. Lightning needed all the comfort in the world right now.

Sorry, I know this chapter is a lot shorter but I really wanted this to be the only thing going on in this chapter.


	6. A Chance to Mend It

It was Sunday. The massive one-sided fight between Lightning and Serah was no more than three days old. Lightning had left the house and was making her way through town and over the beach to Snow's home. Lightning was nervous. She didn't know how this would go but she knew what she had to do. Lightning fidgeted with the edges of her shirt as she picked up her pace a bit. It was crowded in town today. Lightning weaved her way in and out of the crowded streets hoping to move faster but that wasn't an option. Her mind was whirling with a thousand different thoughts. The words this boy, Hope, spoke reverberated in her mind. He was only fourteen, how could he have read into Lightning so clearly? Lightning wished she had seen things that clearly when she was fourteen years old. Her own realizations that she had come to terms with over a bottle of tequila were vivid in her mind as well and she couldn't run away from them anymore.

Lightning stopped once she hit the beach and took her shoes off. She didn't want to get them filled with sand. It wouldn't be long now before Lightning was standing before Snow's house. She could feel her heart beating faster as her nerves intensified. She wondered what Serah would think about her just showing up at Snow's door. She wondered how Snow would react to her…after all; Lightning did punch him pretty hard and all she had done was yell at him. She walked alongside the breaking waves playing out different scenarios in her mind as to how this would go. Serah had every right to never forgive Lightning for this. It had been the last straw in a lifetime of being disregarded by Lightning. Snow had every right to not let Lightning in his house after the way she had treated him; but the truth was Snow would never turn Lightning from his door. Lightning didn't know that.

Lightning wondered if she would ever see Hope again. That boy had the kindness to listen to Lightning and help her realize that listening was the one thing that she had never been good at. She had never been this close to losing her sister and Lightning was ready to get her back. She could see Snow's house now. It looked like there were towels flung over the railing of the deck. Lightning took a deep breath and exhaled nervously as she got closer to the house. She walked away from the foamy surf and up the beach toward the house. She thought it was a nice place. Lightning in the past had accused Snow of having a lousy job and a quote 'two bedroom dump' but it was anything but that. The fact was he didn't have a lousy job and he had a very nice home. Come to think of it, there was no reason for Lightning to hate Snow so much. The guy only had eyes for Serah and he would do anything for her; he kept his word to everyone, he was never late paying a bill, he didn't do any drugs, he didn't smoke, he only drank socially and hell he didn't have any tattoos so Lightning couldn't help but question why she disliked him so much. She couldn't just snap her fingers and warm up to him. This would take time. Furthermore, as Lightning climbed the steps to Snow's door she knew these bleeding wounds wouldn't be healed overnight. She had so much to learn about Serah and while she didn't agree with Serah's decisions…she sure as hell knew she had to respect them.

Lightning shut her eyes tightly as she knocked on the screen door with a trembling hand. She could see inside the house through the grainy screen. The television was on and the ceiling fans were running but there was no one to be seen. It looked like there were four bags of groceries sitting just beyond the door.

"Come in!" a voice yelled from out of sight.

"Oh that's real smart…what if I'm a robber? Or worse…selling something." Lightning mumbled to herself. She opened the door and stepped inside. She looked around wondering if she should put these groceries on the counter. Her stomach churned at the sight of a full bottle of tequila beside the refrigerator. Lightning didn't know if she would ever drink tequila again since she had been so hung over the day before. She looked up to see clothes being thrown into a laundry basket. Lightning walked over to the couch to see her bikini clad sister asleep. "Shouldn't Snow be concerned that whoever came into his house hasn't said anything yet?" Lightning wondered to herself. Snow emerged from a room off the hallway; a shocked look over his face as he saw Lightning standing near the door.

"Lightning…" he said dropping the rest of the clothes in his hands into the basket below him.

"Hey…" Lightning said avoiding eye contact.

"Do you, uh…" Lightning cut him off.

"Serah's asleep. Can I talk to you outside?" Lightning asked pulling at her fingers. She could feel a little bit of moisture in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah…sure." Snow told her stepping over the laundry basket and following Lightning outside onto the deck. Lightning put her hands on the railing as Snow joined her.

"We both know that I'm not your biggest fan. But you love Serah and I can't deny that for a minute." Lightning said.

"I do love Serah." Snow reiterated to her.

"I still think you're irresponsible and I still think it's inappropriate that you're with a girl…I mean a…a young woman who's still in school but um…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for punching you and I'm sorry for accusing you of so many things that are obviously untrue. Now, you have every right to hold this against me forever but…I'm sorry, Snow. I was wrong." Lightning said looking down at the floor of the deck.

"Serah's the one you need to apologize to Lightning, not me. I'm not holding anything against you. But I will, if you don't talk to Serah." Lightning started to cry again but this time she didn't know why. She promised herself she wouldn't do this. "I don't mean to be insensitive Lightning but if you are here to mend things with Serah, crying isn't going to fix it." Serah had awoken and was standing at the screen door. She yawned and pulled her wet hair away from her neck. It still smelled like saltwater. She and Snow had already been in the ocean earlier.

"Sis'?" Serah questioned rubbing her eyes and opening the door.

"Serah!" Lightning gasped spinning around and outstretching her arms to Serah. "Why aren't you wearing more… you know what never mind it's not important." Lightning said hugging her sister against her. She could smell sunscreen still lingering on Serah. Serah didn't exactly hug her back. Lightning held on to Serah's shoulders as she stepped back from her sister. Serah could tell Lightning had been crying.

"Why are you crying? You have no reason to cry." Serah said knowing that these were the same words Lightning had used on her when she was much younger. Lightning shook her head knowing that Serah was right to make her feel the way Lightning had always made Serah feel.

"Come walk with me, please. I need to talk to you so much." Lightning begged of her still holding on to Serah's shoulders. Serah looked at Snow for reassurance. He motioned for her to go with Lightning.

"I'll get our groceries put away and clean the grill. There's still a lot to do before everyone shows up." Snow said.

"What are you getting ready for?" Lightning asked.

"Didn't you hear?" Snow asked her.

"No, what?" Lightning asked.

"School's canceled until further notice. There was a massive propane leak. There are HAZMAT teams there and everything. It was all over the news this morning. So, we're having a cookout tonight with Gadot, Yuj and Labreau." Serah explained. Lightning wanted so badly to say something but she knew she couldn't because she was trying to mend things, right? She was trying to come to terms with the fact that Serah was perfectly capable of making her own decisions and Lightning had to keep her mouth shut as much as she didn't want to. Lightning reached out for Serah's hand.

"Please…come with me." Lightning asked her again. Serah looked back at Snow as Lightning drug her down the steps and onto the beach. He blew her a reassuring kiss. Serah smiled hoping that whatever caused Lightning to show up today wouldn't be too painful. Neither of them said anything at first as they walked down the beach away from the house. "Has he ever hurt you?" Lightning finally asked. Of all the ways she could have started this conversation that's what she said?

"No." Serah answered.

"Have I ever hurt you?" Ah, Lightning was going somewhere with this after all.

"Yes." Serah admitted.

"I know I have. I've hurt you your whole life, Serah. I've been your mother…not your sister." Lightning stopped and turned around to face Serah. "Serah…I'm so sorry I never cared about you the way I should have. I love you so much and I know I have smothered you with the wrong kind of love…a very selfish love. Serah, I've spent so long trying to shelter you from mom and dad's death that I…" Lightning shook her head. "I'm so sorry Serah, I'm so sorry." Lightning said.

"Sis…you know you can't just mend everything you've done by saying these things, right? I love you but…you've never understood before and now suddenly you want to start our sisterly relationship all over? It just doesn't completely make sense." Serah confessed. She had every right to not take Lightning in her arms and make everything coming up sunshine and rainbows.

"Look, Serah I know. I know I've never been this way with you before but after half a bottle of tequila things start becoming very clear. I wanted so much to keep you innocent forever. I thought I had to make sure that the world never broke your heart and so I sheltered you from death by never talking about mom and dad with you. I sheltered you from pain by never letting you cry. I sheltered you from happiness…" Lightning shook her head. "And yet, while I was doing all that sheltering and protecting I was only pushing you farther and farther away from me. You lost that innocence that I wanted so much to protect. Not because you met Snow and eventually slept with him but…because you never had a sister…only a sister pretending to be your mother. The irony is…I made you grow up when all I was trying to do was preserve that naïve 13-year-old girl." Lightning let go of her shoulders and sighed. "Serah…if you'll let me I swear our relationship will be completely different from now on. And I know sometimes I'll stumble and revert to the way I've always been. But I'm willing to try my hardest to change." Lightning had never been this sincere in her life about anything. Serah hadn't said anything yet. "Our house has been so empty without you. I'm just a hollow shell of a person without you. I have done such a divine job of pushing people out of my life that you're all I have left."

"Are you going to respect the decisions I make and not treat me like a child?" Serah questioned.

"Yes, yes! I promise, yes!" Lightning reassured her desperately.

"And what about Snow?" Serah asked.

"I can't lie to you I don't approve of him but he's never done anything to hurt you and he's never done anything to me. And he has a very stable life. I'll try to get to know him better and I'll try to be less critical." Lightning said. Serah shook her head in agreement.

"Well, that's all you can do sis' is try, right? You have to start somewhere." Serah said smiling. Lightning smiled back at her. That was the first time Serah had seen her sister smile like that in a long time.

"I want you to trust me, Serah. I know you trust Snow more than you trust me and I understand why. My god, I understand why. Things are going to be different. They're going to be different." Lightning said. Serah laughed and opened up her arms. Lightning hugged her close but this time the tears that were in her eyes were happy tears.

"I love you, Lightning. Everything's going to be alright." Serah reassured her. Lightning let go of her and they continued their walk down the beach.

"You drank half a bottle of tequila?" Serah questioned. Lightning laughed.

"Well, it wasn't quite half but it was close." Serah laughed at her.

"You want to hear about a really bad experience with rum?" Lightning looked at Serah. This was only one of the many fun stories Serah had to share with her sister.

"That depends. Does it end well or is it bad?" Lightning asked now enthralled with curiosity. She had so much to learn about the sister she didn't truly know.

"Oh it's ends wonderfully for me. But you might not think so." Serah laughed.

"Okay, I want to hear this." Lightning said.

"So, it was October…." Serah began. This was the start of a long healing process that Lightning couldn't wait to begin.


	7. With Friends Like These

"It looks like you have company." Lightning said as she and Serah approached Snow's house once more. Serah could see Lebreau talking to Snow and Gadot and Yuj standing close by. Serah smiled.

"Yeah, everyone's there. Hey, do you want to stay for the cookout?" Serah asked Lightning. They had been gone for quite a while. Lightning smiled and thought a moment. She considered saying yes for a moment.

"No, no those are your friends not mine. I would hardly fit in and frankly, I'd…spoil the atmosphere to a certain extent." Lightning said.

"Well, you're welcome to stay if you want. Listen, I'm staying here tonight; not because I'm mad at you but because I want to." Serah said. Lightning's heart sunk a little bit. She wanted so much for Serah to come home but she couldn't judge her and she had to respect her decision.

"Okay." Lightning said.

"Do you want to go get lunch or something tomorrow?" Serah asked. Lightning smiled.

"I'd like that very much." Lightning said.

"I'll come by the house tomorrow at 12:30. You pick where you want to go." Serah said.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow." Serah stood on the bottom step of the house and watched Lighting walk the other way down the beach toward the boardwalk town of Bodhum. Lightning turned around and waved when she was halfway gone. Serah continued to watch her until Lightning had completely slipped away from sight. She turned around and headed up the stairs and around to the back of the house.

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH SNOW!?!" Lebreau yelled at Serah. Gadot laughed.

"Hi Lebreau it's nice to see you too!" Serah said teasingly. "I'm pretty sure they heard you at the next house."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I HAD NO IDEA! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE TO KNOW EVERYTHING!" Lebreau continued yelling with excitement.

"Snow said your sister came over. How did that go?" Yuj asked.

"It actually went very well. She's really had a change of heart though I'm not sure why. I don't question her sincerity it's just that it's not like Lightning to be so weepy and remorseful. I think things are going to change between us." Serah admitted.

"Really? That's wonderful, Serah! That's great news!" Snow was excited for her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Hold on! I'm not done with you! Is he any good?" Lebreau asked Serah. Gadot laughed hysterically.

"Serah, I will give you any amount of money if you answer that!" Serah walked away from Snow and rolled her eyes.

"I am so not answering that. I'm going to get something to drink." She said disappearing around the corner of the house.

"HEY! MAKE SURE IT'S SOMETHING WITH ALCOHOL…Because I'm going to ask that again later." Lebreau said much quieter to Yuj. It was strange that it never bothered Lightning that Serah drank underage. It was likely because she and Serah had drunk together many times before in the past. In fact, Lightning had given Serah her first drink when Serah was 16. Legal drinking age wasn't enforced in Bodhum anyway, so it was never the concern of anyone.

"Serah, I made you hamburger." Gadot said as he finished up his first round of meat on the grill.

"Did you put cheese on it?" Serah asked as she reappeared from inside the house.

"I did put cheese on it because Snow told me to." Gadot said. Serah smiled.

"Thanks, sweetie. I'm quite hungry." Serah said taking the burger from him. Lebreau sighed as she took a drink of whatever was in her hand.

"I'm sorry…I just can't look at you now without seeing Snow on top of you." Lebreau told Serah bluntly. Serah laughed at her and clanged her glass against Lebreau's. "What exactly does this mean now? What is your sister going to do or not going to do?"

"It's kind of hard to explain because it goes much deeper than simply Lightning finding out I was sleeping with Snow. But to make a long story short, she is going to start respecting me more and stop treating me like a little girl." Serah explained. Lebreau shook her head in agreement.

"That can't be a bad thing. While you were gone Snow told me about everything that happened. What did you do, Serah? I mean what kept you from going shit crazy on her?" Lebreau wondered. Serah shrugged.

"She's my sister. As angry as she made me over the way she treated Snow I still had to love her." Serah said taking another bite of cheeseburger. Lebreau smiled.

"You know I'll always be here for you if you need another sister. Oh, on a completely unrelated note I like your bikini. Lebreau held her plate up to Gadot as he plopped a burger in front of her. "Hey, don't burn yourself do you hear me Gadot? I don't want to be sitting in the hospital with you like the incident that occurred back in January." Lebreau scolded. Gadot laughed.

"Don't worry Lebreau." Gadot reassured her.

"Hey, don't you tell me not to worry! Snow! Don't play with lighter fluid!" Lebreau shouted.

"Okay, mom but can I stay out past 10:00 tonight?" Snow asked Lebreau kidding her. She had a hand gesture for him. "So, talk to me. School's out because of some leak? When is your last day?" Lebreau asked. This conversation continued as Yuj made a terrific realization.

"Hey you know what you need, Snow? A pool. A pool would be awesome to have behind your house." Yuj said joining Snow beside the grill.

"Yuj…I live like….I don't know…two hundred yards from the ocean…why do I need a pool?" Snow asked him.

"It would be cool!" Yuj said.

"Does this look like the face of someone who cares about being cool?" Snow asked Yuj.

"Not really, but let me tell you! If I lived here I would have a pool." Yuj said. Snow just laughed at him. It was obvious that one of these days Yuj needed to have a job where be made over 50,000 gil a year based on the way Yuj spent money and the way he dreamt big.

"That's cool. Can I ask you something? Do you have any friends at school?" Serah laughed at what Lebreau just said. "Wait, wait…I don't mean it like that…what I mean is to hear you talk it sounds like you go to school with some very immature losers." Lebreau was so honest.

"I do! And to answer your question I don't have friends at school. I go, I do my work, Snow picks me up almost every day for lunch, I finish the day and Snow picks me up at the end of the day. I talk to some of the other students at school but just a few. You guys are my real friends." Serah explained noticing that her drink was nearly gone.

"You said your sister has been a bit of a bitch lately. Does she even realize you're graduating at the top of your class? Because if she doesn't she will since we are all going to stand up and scream for you when the dean calls your name." Lebreau said smiling all over.

"Why does that not surprise me at all? You should have been with us yesterday. Snow, I, Gadot and Yuj went to PalumPolum and of course Yuj insisted on picking out my graduation dress." Serah said standing up and brushing crumbs off her cover-up shorts.

"I knew you all went. I would have gone but I worked all day yesterday. It's okay though business was good. If Yuj picked it out it has to be really pretty…and expensive." Lebreau said as Serah took her glass to go fill it up again. Serah laughed.

"Uh, yeah…both of those." She said leaving this cookout to get her and Lebreau something else to drink.

"So what's it been like with Serah staying here with you?" Gadot asked Snow.

"It's wonderful. I wish she wouldn't go home but I know that eventually she will have to especially since Lightning wants to mend things with her. I would never keep her from that but now that she's here it's going to be hard to let her go back home." Snow said.

"You know, she graduates in less than seventeen days you could always marry her." Gadot was mostly kidding when he said that but he could tell by the look in Snow's eyes that he had taken Gadot's words much more seriously. Gadot just smiled and shook his head. He didn't exactly know what to say next. Fortunately, Lebreau was around to yell at them.

"HEY, GENIUSES OVER THERE! YOUR GRILL IS ON FIRE!" Gadot spun around to see that Lebreau was indeed correct. Gadot panicked but Snow just laughed at him. Serah had returned with the drink she fixed for Lebreau. "Thanks, you're just in time to watch Gadot flip out." Lebreau said calmly.

"Good! I love watching Gadot flip out. It's a rare treat." Serah said. "Oh, look Snow's not helping him at all. He's just laughing at Gadot and making this situation worse."

"And then of course there's you and me who are doing nothing but sitting here drinking and Yuj is on the phone. You know what, if Gadot burns himself it's his own fault. I'm sick of keeping him safe." Lebreau said.

"Nobody ever calls Yuj, what's up with that?" Serah asked. Lebreau raised her eyebrows. "I guess he hadn't told you all yet. He's 'talking' to someone. I don't know who she is but I bet you she dresses well." Lebreau and Serah laughed. "Wait, here's my prediction…whoever she is…if it's anything that he's actually interested in pursuing he'll introduce her to you and Snow first because he knows I'm super critical. Then, he'll introduce her to Gadot because if you and Snow are okay with her then Gadot pretty much has to be. Now me? I'll be last to meet her because he knows how I am." Lebreau deduced.

"That is surprisingly accurate." Serah said. This had turned out to be a much better day than ever imagined. Serah thought for sure that Lightning showed up earlier today to be irrational and unreasonable. That wasn't the case. Serah thought for sure her sister's presence earlier would have ruined this cookout. That wasn't the case. What else could she ask for at this point in her life?

The cookout ended in the early evening after a late afternoon ocean dip. Lebreau always made fun of Yuj because he complained about saltwater not being good for the colors in your clothes. Gadot always followed Yuj's complaining up with some sort of smart ass remark. Everyone was gone now and Snow and Serah were laying on the couch watching a news anchor ramble something about a Pulse Fal'Cie Vestige. Neither of them was paying much attention to it. It was hard to pay attention to whatever was being said when you in the middle of a very heated kiss. Serah's naked back felt hot to the touch where she had been sunburned earlier in the day despite all the sunscreen she had put on. Her being sunburned was an excellent excuse for her to be lying half naked underneath Snow. Serah felt soft blond hair on her neck.

"I'm really happy that Lightning talked to you today." Snow told her.

"Me too. She means it." Serah said.

"Was she upset that you weren't coming home tonight?" Snow asked her kissing her neck.

"She was a little…but it wasn't because she didn't agree with the decision. It was because she wanted to be with me. We're going to have lunch tomorrow." Serah explained sighing as Snow's lips crept over her collar bone.

"That's nice. I'm sure you will have plenty to talk about with her. I love you and I can't wait to get to know her. But she's got to know you first." Snow told her. Serah smiled as her hands caressed their way down his back.

"You will. She's going to make an effort to get to know you better. She has no reason to not like you and she's going to learn how great you are." Serah said resting her head against his. Serah felt her body shiver as Snow touched her. "Hey, Snow?" Serah questioned softly letting her hands move farther down his body.

"What, baby?" Snow asked her. Serah could feel the ties of what was left of her bikini come undone at her hips.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." Serah said. Snow looked at her.

"You are never going to have to know what that would be like." Snow reassured her. Serah smiled before letting her lips sink into his. Serah moaned, feeling Snow's body rub against hers. She loved how Snow made her feel invincible; how he made her feel like nothing in the world could or would hurt her. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotion but it was over now.


End file.
